Attacking India win practice tie

The players were around, warming up, the team managements discussing their plans and the security guards in place, the last lot a little nonplussed by the sudden influx of people with cameras and notepads in hand as the media was finally allowed to enter the National Stadium ahead of the upcoming hockey World Cup and witness the hosts’ practice match against The Netherlands on Thursday.
The result was 2-1 in India’s favour, but it was incidental. As the match was being played in the presence of a posse of mediapersons, it became more than just a drab warm-up affair. And it kicked off on the right note, with India making an attacking start. It wasn’t a game played at full pace, with both teams more keen on working out their combinations and assessing the opposition.

India were up 1-0 against the Dutch early on through a brilliant run down the right flank by Gurvinder Chandi, moving in from close to the backline and slotting the ball high up in the net. The second one came off a combined move by Tushar Khandker and Deepak Thakur, the latter sounding the board to seal off the winner. Taeke Taekema had earlier levelled scores through a penalty corner.

All this while, chief coach Jose Brasa, standing on the sidelines, kept shouting instructions: “Udhar banda nahi hai” to move the players up, “andar jao” to move them back. And custodian Adrian D’Souza exercised his vocal cords to the utmost.

On the positive side, India appeared to be trying variations in creating field goals, Arjun Halappa played the linkman brilliantly and D’Souza reaffirmed his status as among the best in the world with some good work under the bar. The flip side: India failed to convert any of the three penalty corners they got.

England on way with ‘concerns’

England’s hockey squad left for New Delhi on Thursday with security arrangements still a concern for the players, according to a report. England’s hockey performance director David Faulkner acknowledged there were apprehensions among the players, The Times reported. “The excitement of playing in a World Cup has been dented and it is unsettling,” Faulkner was quoted as saying by the London newspaper. “We are in daily contact with the British High Commission in Delhi regarding security arrangements.”